Scottish Government unveils £50m fund to boost housebuilding

The flexible grant and loan fund, unveiled by Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil today, will help unlock strategic housing sites of importance to local authorities to increase the scale of housing delivery

The Scottish Government has announced a new £50 million infrastructure fund to help speed up construction of thousands of new affordable and private homes.

The flexible grant and loan fund, unveiled by Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil today, will help unlock strategic housing sites of importance to local authorities to increase the scale of housing delivery.

The Scottish Government said the fund forms part of a package of measures to support the increase in supply of homes across Scotland as part of its five-year commitment to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes - 70 per cent for social rent - backed by more than £3 billion of investment.

The Scottish Government said: “All planning appeals for housing proposals of more than 100 units will now be recalled to ensure housing land supply issues are given ministerial scrutiny.”

During a visit to Clyde Valley Housing Association’s new development in Kilsyth, Mr Neil said:

“Today's announcement underlines this Government’s determination to increase the pace and scale of development to deliver more homes across all tenures.

“The £50 million infrastructure fund will help unblock sites that are strategically important to councils and that have the potential to accelerate the delivery of thousands of new homes across the country.

“To make that happen we will team up with public and private sector bodies to tackle complex development, financing, infrastructure and planning issues impeding housing supply.

“We will also explore more innovative financing to build more homes for mid-market rent.

“We have listened to our partners and are putting in place measures to support the increase in the supply of homes across all tenures, support jobs in the construction industry, and encourage inclusive growth in the wider economy.”